Papilio charopus

• Papilio charopus charopus (Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea: Bioko)
• Papilio charopus juventus Le Cerf, 1924 (TL: Congo Republic [Semliki Valley]; Congo Republic (Ituri, Kivu), western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi) [syn. = P. c. montuosus (Joicey & Talbot, 1927; Encycl. Ent. (B3) 2 (1): 2; (TL: Congo Republic [N.W. Kivu, Upper Iowa Valley, near msisisi, 5000-6000ft]), junior synonym]

Highland forests (Congolian forests, Lower Guinean forests).

Fairly common and not threatened.

The ground colour is black. The markings are metallic blue. The blue band reaches the hind wing margin in area lb.

Papilio charopus belongs to a clade called the nireus species group with 15 members. The pattern is black with green or blue bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails lack tails with the exception of this species Papilio charopus and Papilio hornimani. The clade members are:

• Papilio aristophontes Oberthür, 1897
• Papilio nireus Linnaeus, 1758
• Papilio charopus Westwood, 1843
• Papilio chitondensis de Sousa & Fernandes, 1966
• Papilio chrapkowskii Suffert, 1904
• Papilio chrapkowskoides Storace, 1952
• Papilio desmondi van Someren, 1939
• Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879
• Papilio interjectana Vane-Wright, 1995
• Papilio manlius Fabricius, 1798
• Papilio microps Storace, 1951
• Papilio sosia Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
• Papilio thuraui Karsch, 1900
• Papilio ufipa Carcasson, 1961
• Papilio wilsoni Rothschild, 1926

• Carcasson, R.H. (1960). "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society pdf Key to East Africa members of the species group, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society